The FTC’s ruling has finallyDiscount Kamagra, been handed down for the highly publicized 2-year probe into Google’s possible antitrust violations. The allegation was that Google strangled free market competition by rigging the SERPs to highlight its own products (local, travel, Kamagra australia, and shopping listings in particular). Kamagra craiglist, On Thursday, the agency’s members unanimously voted to drop all antitrust charges against Google.

The ruling was a huge win for the search giant, with a modest amount of collateral damage, 30mg Kamagra. The only harm done to Google. 10mg Kamagra, A slap on the wrist and a few concessions that involved nothing more than tweaking some of their existing business practices.

The FTC’s Decision: Reasons for the Ruling

This case was a hairy one. Antitrust laws, when applied to the rapidly evolving tech niche, are nothing more than fuzzy at best, Discount Kamagra. Since the global power of mega-companies like Google, Amazon, 150mg Kamagra, and Apple is a relatively recent phenomenon, 40mg Kamagra, there’s no real precedent for judging their practices. That’s why the FTC delayed its decision for so long – it was quite a tough one to make, complete with political pressure from all sides.

When FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz announced the agency’s unanimous decision in a press conference on Thursday, 1000mg Kamagra, he vehemently defended their findings. 100mg Kamagra, According to the LA Times, 250mg Kamagra, Leibowitz conceded that Google does in fact favor its own products in the SERPs. 50mg Kamagra, However, he defended the practice by claiming that G does it in the best interests of consumers.

Leibowitz went on to reveal that the FTC ruled Google never violated the FTC act – and that there was no illegal monopolization to be found within the company’s practices. Discount Kamagra, He reminded press conference attendees that the aim of US antitrust law was to “protect competition, not competitors.”

Simply put, this means that the FTC decided that Google’s practices don’t hurt consumers. Searchers can always jump on a different search engine, Kamagra overseas, and their options are endless. Kamagra usa, Therefore, the fact that Google’s massive market share cripples competing search engines is irrelevant to the case. It’s all about the end user.

After all this explanation, 20mg Kamagra, Leibowitz defended the way the FTC handled the case. Kamagra uk, He pointed out that the agency took sworn testimony from the top dogs at Google – not to mention sifting through more than 9 million pages of case info. No wonder it took so long, Discount Kamagra. He claimed the probe was both thoughtful and thorough, complete with outcomes that limit some of Google’s other questionable practices.

The key takeaway from the FTC’s findings, Kamagra ebay. In the words of Leibowitz himself, Kamagra coupon, “The facts were not there under the law.”

Deconstructing Google’s Concessions

Google was forced to agree to some changes in order to get off the FTC’s hook. One major concession G made was a pledge to curb the use of competitors’ content snippets in its search results. The company agreed that it would allow services such as Yelp to block their content from displaying in Google’s search results, Kamagra paypal. Discount Kamagra, Previously, Google freely scraped content from these kinds of sites – sans permission – for use in its own listings. In 90 days or less, 500mg Kamagra, companies will have the ability to opt out by submitting an online form to Google.

The second big agreement Big G made with the FTC concerned its AdWords platform – the service that generates the bulk of Google’s revenue. Google must alter the service in order to allow advertisers to export their campaign data to competing platforms. This particular concession is a huge win for Bing and Yahoo, Kamagra india, one that will surely pad their bottom lines in the years ahead.

A third biggie that Google must change: the company can’t demand sales bans during patent lawsuits. 750mg Kamagra, Google’s been a major player in the patent wars, and this agreement is also a major hindrance to business as usual.

All of Google’s concessions are a headache for the company, sure, 200mg Kamagra, but Google wholly considers itself a winner after the ruling. The biggest concern for the search giant was a potential limitation on the way it displayed its search results, Discount Kamagra. Kamagra mexico, Now that the threat has faded, Google can return to its daily operations – for now.

Criticism and the Road Ahead

Of course, the findings of a case this controversial are bound to be met with some criticism, Kamagra canada. Competitors, Kamagra japan, watchdog groups, and consumer advocacy groups are all howling about the FTC’s decision – and each group has its own unique axe to grind.

For example, Google critics were already predicting the results of the case weeks before the official announcement, Kamagra us. In fact, at the end of 2012, a few of them publically threatened to take their case to the US Justice Department if the FTC route failed them.

FairSearch.org, an organization formed specifically to combat Google’s monopolistic global hold, condemned the decision as rash and premature. In an emailed statement about the ruling, FairSearch warned:

The FTC’s inaction on the core question of search bias will only embolden Google to act more aggressively to misuse its monopoly power to harm other innovators.

Another consumer advocacy group angry about the FTC’s decision is Consumer Watchdog. The organization quickly issued a statementDiscount Kamagra, about the ruling, writing:

Other groups and companies are angry as well, but their wrath is in haste. Google’s fight doesn’t end with the FTC’s decision – in fact, this is only the first in a string of major government investigations that will undoubtedly play out over the next few years. The next up to bat: the European Union. It’s conducting an investigation of its own, and all eyes are turned toward Brussels in anticipation of a decision. Keep your seatbelt on – Google still has a long way to go.

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Reviewed By Nell TerryThis Is Article About Discount Kamagra was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2013 have 4 stars rating.

Nell Terry is a freelance writer, tech news junkie, and fledgling Internet marketer. She thrives on social media, web design, and uncovering the truth about all the newest marketing fads that pop up all over the ‘net. Find out more about Nell by visiting her online portfolio at Content by Nell.

I think that Google learned about that when they spent 4.6 billion dollars to purchase YouTube. YouTube has yet to turn a profit, but it did come with billions of dollars worth of copyright violations which nobody sued over because YouTube had no money. Once a rich company like Google took over, they had to clean it up or face crippling legal action from Viacom and others.

In my opinion this decision is not unlike many others… take the scale of justice… place the law on one side, and money on the other… you know which way they will lean… “FTC” F@#! The Consumer… It’s like “The IRS”… TheIRS… the acronyms says it all…